Beauty Trends

‘The Bob’ is a classic haircut that will never go out of style. With so many angles and lengths to wear the ’do, there’s literally a bob hairstyle to fit any and everyone.

Of course, it’s not unusual to see multiple people with the same bob style, but what’s great about this trend is that the style is proving to be universally flattering. Regardless of age or face shape the classic bob just works, and it’s super easy to customize to anyone’s individual style.

Women coloring their hair seems to be all the rage. Remember when the granny hair trend popped up?

If you’re tired of strutting around with silver locks, you’ll be happy to know there’s a beauty trend floating around social media and it is just to “dye” for.

Behold—glitter explosion—pastel colored hair!

Lots of women, including celebs like Kelly Osbourne and Katy Perry, are ditching “normal” colors for pink, blue, and purple shades.

Aside from looking fabulous, these vibrant shades pretty much make you look like a sparkling unicorn or a magical mermaid…and, if becoming a majestic mermaid isn’t at the top of your to-do list, you need to get your priorities straight.

These pops of color are fun and have a feminine vibe. Considering the number of shades available, there’s a pastel color that perfectly complements any girl’s personality.

The pastel hair trend definitely rules the roost now and you can get involved with some of Aveda’s high lift colors or enlightener. It’s a commitment, but it’s glorious to be able to see your hair go from natural to fanciful.

There’s nothing new about crazy hair colors but now it’s become a lot more prevalent and a lot softer in hue. These soft shades are achievable when your hair has been lightened enough. They look great with long or short hair.

Shades like lavender are insanely easy to maintain with Aveda’s pigmented shampoos and conditioners. So, if you’ve already taken the plunge and want to return the technicolor to your tresses, try Blue Malva Shampoo and Conditioner. It adds a silvery, cool hue back to hair that’s become brassy or lost its luster. The shampoo is gentle and suitable for all hair types and the conditioner deep conditions hair.

If you’re going for a big change to your hair, why not make it of the mythical variety?

Balayage has blown up in the past couple years. It’s very popular among celebrities and salons all over the world. The beauty of balayage are sunkissed highlights that look like natural pops of color.

One reason people are obsessed with this hair trend is because it’s low maintenance. The highlights are painted free-handed, and away from the root, with no lines of demarcation. When your hair grows out, you don’t need to get it retouched every four to six weeks. Some people even go up to six months without touching it up. Typically, the base color isn’t lightened, so the grow out is beautiful. It’s versatile—the look can range from natural to dramatic. Think “beautiful sunkissed goddess”; it’s never boring, and it can be downright amazing!

Personally, I’m obsessed with this hair trend. I don’t feel like it’s going away anytime soon. I have been balayaging my hair for the past two to three years and I never get tired of it. I can truly say I’m possessed!

A few weeks ago, I stopped into Dre Holder Salon to visit one of their stylists, who is also one of my good friends. It wasn’t too busy, so some of the other stylists were on break just chatting about some of the new hair trends. However, there was one that really stuck out to me that I wanted to share: “The American Wave.”

The American Wave was pioneered by one of New York’s master stylists, Nick Arrojo. He defines the American Wave as “a professional salon service to create soft, natural-looking, wave and curl patterns, bounce, body and movement for those that want to make the graceful elegance and individuality of texture a part of their hairstyle and identity.”

Nick Arrojo utilizes a system of ‘soft tools’ that reduces the stress on the hair. The techniques he employs, and teaches to others, ensure that the textures that are created are always contemporary, fashionable, and wearable. The system also uses a specialized waving lotion that reconditions the hair for a smoother cuticle filled with life and vitality, not dryness and damage; instead of chemical compounds, American Wave smells like eucalyptus.

As a wave, texture, and volume enhancing service, it creates a range of customized looks, from cascading beachy waves to increased fullness and bounce to curly shapes and styles. The four service options include The Beach Wave, Style Support, Expanded Curls, and Color Wave.

The Beach Wave: Using a vertical drag wrap soft tool technique, this style marries straight and wavy textures to create the sexy, tousled beach waves on the vanguard of fashion and beauty trends.

Style Support: For clients with fine and/or straight hair, Style Support uses a new spin on soft tool wrapping techniques. It adds volume and texture to hair that lacks life and vitality by creating a resilient consistent wave pattern that helps create better blow-dries and hot-tool styles.

Expanded Curls: For those with curly hair, Texture Specialists use a round soft tool wrapping technique to create buoyant and resilient wave and curl patterns that are healthy, frizz-free, and fun.

Color Wave: Color Wave allows for any of the American Wave styles to be applied to lightened hair, so you can pair bombshell blondes with bombshell waves and curls.

Since its launch in 2012, American Wave-made hairstyles have been featured at a cornucopia of global hair and beauty shows, shared with thousands of American professionals, and inspired American Wave editorial images and videos. In the salon it is used on clients who want to make the timeless elegance, beauty and grace of texture a part of their identity. Meanwhile, the technology, techniques, and results have featured everywhere from The Today Show to The Chicago Tribune to Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Allure.

Now is the time to embrace your curl, and Nick Arrojo is “proud to be on the front line of the texture trend and to be part of a healthy, free-spirited and unrepressed approach to beauty.” He feels that, “hair should make you look and feel young and carefree, sexy and fun and fabulous. So boost your body and bounce, enhance your natural texture, make your roots pop, create sexy, tousled beach waves and curls suited to the easy-going and versatile fashion and beauty zeitgeist.”

A lot of people have been trending new, upcoming, and out of the ordinary colors for lipsticks this past year. Colors from purple to blue, and now even green and yellow. Some of these colors have been around for years, but have not reached the surface of the high fashion pool until now.

MAC is a brand that is known for being bold and creative with their colors and matte looks. Having such a wide range of unique and intense hues has made them one of the most popular cosmetic line for lipsticks. This not to say that they were not already famous for their bold eyeshadow colors, blushes, and other face makeup. From their “Bronze Shimmer” to the “Up the Amp,” they have over 200 different hues including every color on the rainbow.

I am not much of a exotic lip color gal myself, however I have been dying to test drive a few “out of my comfort zone” lip shades. One of my favorite lip colors for myself would be a maroon or a deep reddish-purple color. But I want to discover what it feels like to explore purple lips. Strangely enough, these bold colors seem to not only bring out people’s personalities through style, but they also increase their confidence. I believe women (and men) feel so many different emotions just by adding some lip color to their look. It can make you feel sexy, subtle, happy, excited, bold, and so on. I know I feel like a million bucks when I rock a great red or maroon.

So challenge yourself to find a color that not only suits you, but brings out your inner, beautiful self.

Since I was a child, I’ve watched TV shows depicting beautiful people with white, perfect teeth. I grew up thinking that extremely white teeth were the standard for good teeth. Throughout the U.S., there are many products that sell kits to whiten teeth. In Hollywood, most celebrities don’t just have white teeth. They almost glow in the dark like cartoons.

Myself, I think this is a bit extreme. It’s normal not to have glowing teeth. It’s okay if they are slightly colored. Who can afford the time and money to get teeth professionally whitened once a month?

Are those teeth whitening kits safe? I’ve used several whitening treatments in my coffee addict days. They definitely made my teeth whiter, but they had adverse affects. I used the Crest white strips, whitening toothpaste, and whitening mouth wash. I used the white strips once daily and the mouth wash twice a day morning and night after brushing and flossing. One morning, I went to do my daily routine of brushing my teeth and I discovered a nickel-sized cyst that had grown on my gums overnight. I started freaking out; I’d never seen anything like it before. My bunkmate at the time, who was using the same products and process that I was, also had one near her molars on her gums. We both decided to stop the whitening treatments to see if that was what was causing it. Two weeks later, the cysts disappeared and never came back.

Since then, I’ve promised myself I’ll never use another artificial whitening product ever again. I’ve done a lot of research on artificial tooth care products and their effects, and it’s devastating. They can cause labored breathing, bloody urine, infertility, and incontinence. Wow, no thank you. I’ll stick to my natural whitening remedies.

There are many amazing natural teeth whitening remedies on the internet, but they can be overwhelming. I’ve been using a recipe for a tooth whitening toothpaste that I got from an ex-boyfriend. It’s very simple, cheap, and can last a very long time. Here it is:

½ cup coconut oil

½ cup baking soda

8 drops of peppermint oil

Put the ingredients into a big glass bowl and mix well. Transfer to a glass jar and refrigerate, scooping out about a week’s worth at time.

That’s it. It’s very simple and very effective. I have seen a great improvement in the color of my teeth from light yellowish to white. It takes about a month to really see any results but you’re avoiding crazy cysts and possible side effects. I will never go back. I love my new natural whitening toothpaste and you will too. So give it a try. It won’t hurt and I really think you’ll love it.

Since we were little girls, we have been bombarded with images of women with small waists, big boobs, curvy hips, long legs, perfect skin, and the overall “perfect body”. We grow up with insecurities from these images thinking that is the way we are supposed to be and, if we are anything else, we are ugly. Of course, all of this is due to TV, movies, magazines, and advertisements placing pressure on women to be this unrealistic image of “perfect”. What really is perfect? I believe there is no such thing. How can one body image be the ultimate ideal for every person on this planet? The answer is there isn’t one. Everyone has their own image of beauty in their head.

I find beauty in everything. Our unique qualities—not mass populated images—make us beautiful. One of my personal favorite celebrities is the female artist P!nk. She is not the typical beauty that you see in Hollywood. She has a muscular physique and a more boyish figure, with small breasts and small hips. But she exudes confidence and love for herself and her body regardless of the Hollywood image of beauty. Yet we still have women like Kim Kardashian splashed across all of social media, magazines, and TV. She has had plastic surgery to alter her appearance and to maintain the Hollywood image. Don’t get me wrong, she has a very curvy figure and that has changed the ideal image from anorexic thin to voluptuous but, she is still shown as having absolutely no imperfections thanks to her plastic surgery.

As women, we need to learn to be happy with our bodies. Do daily affirmations and rituals to show love to ourselves. On my bathroom mirror, I have a card on which is typed “You’re Beautiful”. It reminds me that regardless of how I see my bodies imperfections, I should love myself. Even if you are overweight hating yourself won’t help. Learning to love yourself will give you the mental strength to push yourself to a healthier lifestyle. Think about it, if you really think everyday “OMG, I hate being this fat, I am so nasty” it will cause you to be depressed and depression brings on fatigue, anxiety, bad eating habits, and this whole cycle continues. Positive thinking helps bring results. it makes you push forward for a better and happier life.

Of course, eating healthy and exercising helps increase our confidence and makes us feel beautiful. I know that when I am exercising on a regular basis, I feel clear-headed and amazing. I see myself as strong and making good healthy progress in my life.

Another issue we have with body image is body-shaming. Social media is the most popular place to post pictures of people doing embarrassing things and they may not even know they are being photographed or filmed. The other day, I saw a video on Instagram of a bigger woman riding a bike at a good rate, working hard, and clearly trying to get some exercise. And all the video said was, “This woman is so big, you can barely see the bike. Elephants should stay at the zoo.” Why would we say this about this woman who is clearly trying to improve herself and become healthy? We should be encouraging this woman, not shaming her.

So ladies, let’s stop body shaming ourselves and others and start encouraging positive body image. Let’s face it, ladies, there is no real “perfect” in this world. We are all unique and we should embrace it and love who we are as women.

This prediction is more based on a hunch than anything else, but it’s a strong hunch.

Designs crafted on men’s faces and scalps with the use of clippers and razors is nothing new. It has been relegated to strip malls, Dennis Rodman and botched jobs found in google search results. Though, there is an incredibly high attention to craft and detail I believe it has yet to be fully realized in the proper fashion world. Designs themselves are more times than not “street-art”-esque, graffiti, flames and tribal patterns that have purely just been out of style for well over a decade.

But, like all other things fashionable, these trends come in cycles and it’s about time we begin to re-hash the period of the late 90’s and early 00’s. It’s going to happen and all things about that period will be dragged up with it, including clipper designs. Although, my prediction is that the designs will take on a new tone. The new designs will likely be more geometric, more abstract in many cases, or purely ironic.

During our Esti Intro phase we studied a little bit about the history of make up and how beauty trends have evolved. Here are 7 fun facts to remind us of our beauty ancestry.

1. The first nail polish was invented in China in 3000 B.C. Unlike the formula today, the original version was a mixture of beeswax, gum, egg whites and colored powder.

2. During Cleopatra’s reign, she would soak the sails of her ships in perfume so the scent would drift to Rome before her arrival. Between this and statement eyes, she truly represented Egyptian queen beauty.

3. In the 18th century, England almost passed a law that allowed men to divorce their wives if they caught them wearing makeup. Can you even imagine that today?

4. Every year there are close to 900 million lipsticks sold worldwide. That means almost every single person in the United States could own three tubes of lipstick!

5. Neon nail polish is illegal in the United States. While many brands tout neon shades, their colors do not possess the true neon colorant. Neon within nail polish is not approved by the FDA, thus you’re most likely to find a real neon nail polish in other countries.

6. The first mascara was created by Eugene Rimmel in the 19th century. Ironically, the word Rimmel closely translates to mascara in many languages, while the word mascara means mask or stain in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.

7. Some laws never get tossed out no matter how outdated and absurd. In order for a woman to wear makeup in Morrisville, Pennsylvania she must get a permit first. Luckily, no one is enforcing this law!

A hair trend that has been evolving over the last couple of years among the fashion forward is reaching a nexus as masses of men confidently let go of blended hair, transitioning to a far bolder and edgy disconnected look. This has laid way to a number of styling possibilities, maintaining options to dress it up, or down. Regardless of how it is worn, this style seems to represent a kind of collision of the popular resurgence of Don Draper-esque high and tights and DYI-ness of today’s younger culture. While shaving the sides of one’s head is not difficult, sculpting it into something of style and substance is quite a bit more.

This is an exciting looking way to creative and interesting variations.
Now wrap your attention around the interesting and somewhat unlikely evolution of this look: the top knot.

What happens when a style grows out? Well, for men’s hair, it’s typically a haircut, or a trim perhaps. It’s the hinge on which our business rests. But in the last year, an interesting look—the top knot—seems to have gained popularity, and not just among the trend-setters and hipsters of our city’s streets. Top knots are being spotted everywhere, abiding by a kind of natural law that if the hair reaches then the knot is fair game. Top knots are appearing in all shapes and forms, from short stem-like sprouts, to elegantly crafted chignons. Many men are opting to tap their creative/effeminate bone to perpetuate this style.

It has been interesting to see this look evolve from what I believe to be a pseudo-throwback, the high and tight to a kind of hybrid of masculine and feminine. Will it last? Time will tell. But one thing is for sure: it’s knot for everyone.

As I reach the homestretch of my time here at Cinta Aveda Institute, I’m finding myself falling in love with my passion for makeup even more than I had before I attended CAI. With the help of our new educator, Shawn Peltier, I have been inspired to work hard to achieve my goals as a makeup artist. This week he had us focused on Fashion Week, its history, the artists/designers, the makeup, the models, and more. Fashion Week happens only twice a year in the major fashion capitals of the world such as Milan, Paris, New York and London. Fashion weeks are held several months in advance of the season to allow the press and buyers a chance to preview the fashion designs for the following season. In 1945, the first ever New York Fashion Week was held! Crazy to think how far we have come in the industry, huh?

As far as the makeup aspect goes, it has been more on the natural side. Polished but still with that lived-in look. Shawn had us specifically focus on Atelier Versace’s Spring 2014 Haute Couture look. This look involves natural complexion, brows, and lip. The eyes bring the most attention with gorgeous blue hues and a dramatic winged liner. Using the tools we have at school and the magic of makeup, we mimicked Versace’s look to practice the routine of Fashion Week and repetition of the look to get it just right.

An example from the Haute Couture show in Paris (left) and an example done by Shawn on me during our Advanced Theory Class (right).

“With the return of the 1950s to the Atelier Versace runway, Pat McGrath echoed the decade’s emblematic curved-shouldered jackets with a vibrant doe eye: ‘Donatella wanted something graphic, aerodynamic and fun.’ The make-up artist drew a deep angled curve on the lids with blue-green eyeliner, before highlighting with a thick stroke of iridescent color for depth. Think Fifties meets fashion rock.” — Vogue

One of the greatest inspirations for makeup artists is film history, be it the glamorous looks of the fifties or the more natural looks of the later 20th century.

When we look back to the silent era, makeup from the 1910s and early 1920s looks intensely dramatic and often ghoulish. You might think the makeup style of pale skin and dark and almost black lips and heavily-lined eyes from the silent films of the era had to do with accentuating facial expression and creating contrast, but it had more to do with technical limitations than it did creative choices. This is because the type of film used was orthochromatic, or blue-sensitive.

Orthochromatic film was used universally until 1922 and did not fall out of use completely until the 1930s. Blue colors registered as white on orthochromatic film, and red and yellow registered as black with varying shades of gray falling between those colors rather than indicating any degree of darkness or lightness in reality.

This created a unique and difficult challenge for film industry makeup artists of the day. They used heavily layered pink and white grease paint to get a reasonable skin tone. The eyes weren’t visible with this masklike foundation and blue-eyed actors weren’t even employed because their eyes would not register at all. Makeup artists used heavily applied red shadow around the eyes to make the eyes stand out. The signature look was completed with red lipstick which registered on film as black.

It made for an intensely dramatic face on film that looked almost nothing like what it looked like in real life. The film image though is what remains and still gives inspiration today.

Exfoliation is the process of removing the dead skin cells from the surface of the skin through either chemical or mechanical methods.

Mechanical exfoliation, the process of exfoliating the skin by hand by scrubbing with something abrasive, has been practiced all over the world and throughout history. American Indians used dried corncobs. The people of the Comanche tribe would use sand from the bottom of a river bed to scrub the skin. Polynesian people would use crushed sea shells.

Mechanical exfoliation was practiced in ancient Egypt where they employed a variety of methods. Pumice stones were popular abrasives as well as other minerals such as alabaster particles, and scrubs made from sand and the aloe vera plant.

Exfoliation through chemical means, as practiced today, is a science constantly updated with new technology and ingredients. But the practice itself also has a long history dating back to ancient Egypt when sour milk, which contains lactic acid, was used as a chemical exfoliant. Cleopatra is famously said to have frequently bathed in it.

In the Middle Ages, people commonly used old wine for its exfoliation properties. Old wine was effective because of its tartaric acid content. Various natural remedies of these kinds, containing naturally occurring levels of alpha hydroxyl acids, were the norm until the late 1800s. That’s when German dermatologist Paul Gerson Unna began scientifically formulating the earliest forms of chemical peels. His pioneering research with salicylic acid is still used today.

In the early 20th century, dermatologists began to experiment with phenols in chemical exfoliation. That remained popular through most of the 20th century.

The Holidays are just right around the corner. Are you guys ready for 2015? I know I am! This year has gone by so fast and what a journey it has been. I am as curious as you are to see what the colors and trends for spring 2015 are going to be.

This fall/winter 2014, we’ve seen lots of simple liner, metallic eye shadows, doll-eyed lashes, shades of purple and blues, and just very bare looks on the runway – simply no makeup at all. I don’t think I can ever do that. I can’t live without my foundation!

This coming spring 2015, we’ll be seeing more cooler, softer colors, but with some subtle warm tones – aquamarine, mint green, classic blue; to warmer colors like beige, and baby pink; to oranges and browns. Makeup-wise, we’ll be seeing some more doll eye lashes and very black inked liners on the eye—how Twiggy usually wore her eyes. There’s definitely some purples that pop up here and there. The makeup looks are still very clean throughout the season.

Fall is here, and that means the holidays are at hand! You can’t go into the holidays looking a mess. It’s time to change up that color! Shake off the lighter tones of summer for some richer ones to ring in this new season.

As always, the holiday season means warmth. Add some warm tones to your hair! Aveda Full Spectrum Color offers complete customization when it comes to your hair color. Want that gorgeous ombre? Take a picture of what you have in mind to an Aveda salon near you, and get your very own, completely customized color.

The current gothic trend is about creating a darkly romantic look with a glowing fresh faced porcelain complexion paired with dark lipstick, be it in red or berry, purple or burgundy. Mixing a foundation just a touch lighter than your natural color with your natural color can give a slightly pale complexion without looking overly theatrical or cartoonish. Staying with minimal foundation and concealer keeps it looking romantic. Contouring should be downplayed with slight emphasis on enhancing the cheekbones at most.

Deep colored lipstick creates an aura of mystery and drama. It is the focal point of this look. Eyes are downplayed, with light, neutral shadow and simple mascara. False eyelashes and heavy eyeliner are not part of this particular brand of gothic look. The look is more ethereal and natural with touches of intensely deep color along the line of Lorde. For added drama, the brows can be heavier and filled in darkly to play them up.

In more dramatic eye shadows, the trend this fall is metallics and a subtle metallic can be worked into this look as long as it’s kept light and the lips are the main focal point of the look.

Everyone knows that once fall comes, it’s time to put away all the bright summer clothes and bright lipsticks. But you have to follow the fall trends.

It’s crazy: one day in class we had an assignment to ask a makeup artist what the fall trends were going to be this year and I didn’t expect the answer I got. She said, “Usually, for fall, everyone brings out the dark lip and the dark shadow, but that was a trend during summer so I don’t know if it’s going to continue into fall or whether the summer colors are going to be the new fall trends.”

That got me thinking. Personally, I love the dark maroon lip or maybe even a black lip which I have seen a lot lately. But, in my research, I see the normal dark fall looks, but I am also seeing the bright colors, like metallic blue shadow, and nude lips.

Everyone also always says that your hair has to go a little darker for fall. But I see many people with pastel colors in their hair and it is beautiful. Researching everything made me realize that, no matter what trend is in, you never know when it is going to change on you. So follow up with your hairdresser or go into a makeup store and ask. They are always going to give you the information you need.

Everybody might have different opinions about bikini waxing but I feel like you might need the right education about it before you make up your decision. Personally I think every girl should try it at least once in their lives.

Bikini waxing in the Middle East was considered a method of proper hygiene. This is pretty self-explanatory; some older woman might not see it as something they would consider due to the fact that it is such a personal area on the woman’s body. But nowadays, girls shave. Honestly, that’s the same thing. When you shave, you are removing hair, but some girls don’t seem to realize that shaving doesn’t change anything about the hair growth. For example, if you were to wax in the bikini area, the hair would grow back thinner and slower because you would be removing the hair from the actual root.

There are also different types of bikini waxes depending on how much hair you would like to take off. There is an American bikini wax, which takes off everything outside the bikini and also includes a trim. There is a French bikini wax, which takes off everything but a “landing strip”. And there is the Brazilian bikini wax, which takes off every hair in the pubic area and also includes a butt wax.

For someone that has never done this but has thought about it, I would recommend they try it at least once. They won’t regret it.

Categories

Recent Posts

Recent Posts

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed in each of these blog posts are those of its author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Cinta Aveda Institute, its principals, administrators, contractors, faculty, or students.

No representations of accuracy are made by the Institute as to any of the posts on this blog. The instructions and advice found here comes without warranty of any kind, either express or implied. Consult with your own medical professional before taking advice or using a product that could affect your health.

Links to external resources or references to the products and services of others do not constitute an endorsement of the site, services, products, or content found therein. Beauty products and techniques may have results that vary from person to person. Any use of the information found on this blog is entirely at your own risk.